When Ebube first entered the world of healthcare as a high school student training to become a pharmacy technician, she couldn't have predicted how that early experience would shape her future.
Now, with her Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from UTMB's School of Public Health and Population Health (SPPH), Ebube has found her true calling in pharmacoepidemiology – a specialized field that sits at the intersection of pharmaceutical science and population health.
Early Healthcare Exposure Through Pharmacy Work
Born in Nigeria and raised primarily in Houston after her family immigrated when she was a toddler, Ebube initially drew inspiration from a childhood declaration that she wanted to become a doctor to "give kids shots." She followed a pre-med track during her undergraduate studies at Texas Tech University.
However, while working as a pharmacy technician throughout her bachelor's program, Ebube realized that the traditional clinical path wasn't where her passion lay.
"I like the behind-the-scenes kind of work – the statistics, the math, working with computers and figuring things out," Ebube reflects.
Last-Minute Applications Lead to Life-Changing Discovery
After completing her undergraduate degree in Human Sciences, Ebube made a pivotal decision to apply to public health programs, a choice she calls "divine intervention." Upon acceptance to UTMB, she initially selected biostatistics, but after consultation with faculty, transferred to epidemiology.
It was while reviewing faculty profiles with her mother that Ebube discovered Dr. Jacques Baillargeon's work in pharmacoepidemiology. The connection between her pharmacy background and this specialized epidemiology field sparked immediate interest.
"Having worked as a pharmacy technician and now pursuing epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology was a natural fit," she explains. "I've seen firsthand how drug shortages and prescription patterns impact patients – like during COVID, the Ozempic surge, and stimulant medication shortages. I wanted to be part of understanding and improving these systems."
How Public Health Education Reshaped Her Worldview
Reflecting on her time at SPPH, Ebube doesn't hesitate to call the program "the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life" but also one of the most rewarding.
"The MPH program was rigorous. At points, I had no idea if I was going to make it through," she admits. "But now I find myself speaking differently, working in a more sophisticated manner, and being more engaged when it comes to research."
Beyond academic skills, Ebube emphasizes how her public health education has fundamentally changed her worldview: "Public health forces you to realize that the world around you is crucial to your own health and well-being. COVID-19 was a big eye-opener. It's not just about individual freedom, but how we ensure that the people around us are safe and secure."
This shift from individualistic thinking to population-level awareness has reshaped her perspective entirely. "Before my MPH, it would have been easy to be selfish – to focus only on my own well-being and my family's well-being. But public health helps you see the interconnectedness of humanity."
PhD Plans and Building Better Health Systems
As Ebube takes her next steps, planning to work in the pharmaceutical industry before eventually pursuing a PhD in Pharmacoepidemiology, she carries with her not just technical skills, but a deeper understanding of how public health impacts every aspect of society.
"I'm not working to secure financial wealth for myself," she states. "I want to make sure that the future has a world to live in that's better than the one I was raised in. How do we get more public health professionals into policy? How do we ensure those who aren't profitable to big corporations are still okay? Everyone is part of a functioning society."
For those considering an MPH, Ebube offers enthusiastic endorsement: "It's definitely worth it, not just for public health careers, but for anyone who wants to understand the world better. You'll learn so much more beyond public health itself.”
"You're forced to see that there are many bubbles around you, and to consider how we can create a better, bigger bubble for everyone."
Ebubechukwu "Ebube" Nwabuko completed her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at UTMB's School of Public Health and Population Health in May 2025. She plans to work in the pharmaceutical industry while preparing for doctoral studies in pharmacoepidemiology.